The present invention relates to a configurable battery connector, for example for a battery used in professional cameras.
For ease of use, most cameras, particularly professional use cameras, are provided with removable rechargeable batteries. Thus, when on the move, a plurality of batteries can be carried for replacement when the charge of one battery becomes depleted and for recharging at a charging point.
There are various types of battery for such cameras and it is not uncommon that the cameraman may wish or have to use two or more different types of battery for the same camera. This may be because he/she wishes to take advantage of different characteristics of the batteries or because of availability. This has only been possible by providing an adapter between the camera fixings and the battery fixings. Not only does this mean that an additional component needs to be carried but this can also degrade the quality of the connection between the battery and camera, with consequent loss of performance.
An object of the present invention is to provide a battery connector which can accommodate dissimilar batteries.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a configurable battery connector including at least one mechanical coupling for coupling a battery to the connector and at least one electrical terminal which can be coupled to a battery, the location or arrangement of the mechanical coupling or couplings and/or of the electrical terminal or terminals being configurable to be able to connect different configurations of battery to the connector.
In the preferred embodiment, there are provided two or more sets of electrical terminals, each set including at least one electrical terminal and being designed for an individual battery type, each set being activatable or configurable to accommodate its associated battery type.
Additionally or alternatively, the electrical terminals of each set may be movable with respect to the connector to a position in which they can contact one or more electrical terminals of an associated battery and preferably movable to a position in which they cannot contact the electrical terminals when a battery of different type is coupled to the connector.
In the preferred embodiment, the connector is provided with configuring means operable to reconfigure the connector automatically upon coupling of a battery to the connector.